Sunday, September 21, 2008

I'm lovin' my first ever BlackBerry, I think you should definitely get at me for my new number and DL my fresh new Kanye West ringtone using the Zedge link way at the bottom. Oh, and go grab T.I.'s Paper Trail - I promise it's much better than that garbage frisbee T.I. vs. T.I.P.. Here's the track list below and links to some of my favorite jams, Enjoy!

Here ya go! An album preview for Foreign Exchange's new LP Leave It All Behind. Remember how fresh the overseas collabo between Phonte of Little Brother and Dutch producer Nicolay made 2004's Connected? This one should be just as dope, Enjoy!

Monday, September 8, 2008

I've yet to form my full opinion on Kanye's newest song, which he debuted last night to close out the MTV VMA's. I'm definitely feelin' how it's different different - the R&B sing-song feel with no apparent rapping is growing on me. But, I'll wait until the studio quality joint drops to finalize my comments. For now, all we've got to go with is the live version courtesy of Atari Cool Kids, Enjoy!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

.. As if hip-hop's historically-strong 4th quarter wasn't anticipated enough, now Kanye has announced he will be releasing his 4th album this December. The only info we have (shouts to eskay!) is that his first single "Love LockDown" might be released on iTunes this Monday. Other than that, 'Yeezy will be releasing more info tomorrow night at the MTV VMA's. Tune in tomorrow night or stay on that refresh button for the latest news, peace!

Ultimate ceremony masters Mos Def & Talib Kweli are unique dudes - both feel underground but spit at par with the best of all time and entertain in the same breath. This jam from '98 is just one specific example of the skill each exhibited during the Black Star years.Mos meticulously pronounces "From the first to the last of it, delivery is passionate/The whole and not the half of it, vocab and not the math of it/ Projectile that them blasted with, accurate assassin shit/ Me and Kweli close like, Bethlehem and Nazareth" then Kweli articulates "Brooklyn New York City where they paint murals of Biggie/In cash we trust, cause it's ghetto fabulous, life look pretty/What a pity - blunts is still fifty cents, it's intense/Tree scents is dominant can't be covered with incense."The duo dominates through the remainder: Mos' diction during "When the cock crows, my crop grows, enable me to rock flows/Strivin for perfection ever since I was a snot-nosed/Colossal, true original b-boy apostle/Standin on the rooftop with the Zulu gestapo" and Kweli's prolific wordplay with "Consider me the entity within the industry without a history/f spittin the epitome, of stupidity/ Lovin' my life, expressin my liberty/It gotta be done properly/My name is in the middle of e-Kweli-ty" lead up to the big finish.As a finale, Mos silences the critics "In miles or kilometers, most cats cannot proceed us/In the jungle with the leaders we the lions you the 'cheaters'." Damn, those were the days.Wu-Tang Clan - TriumphDownload AudioLyrics

Words cannot describe this Staten Island flame-broiled lyrical onslaught. Well, maybe Wu-Tang words can.Inspectah Deck's eccentric intro "I bomb atomically, Socrates' philosophies/And hypothesis can't define how I be droppin' these" or Meth's stone-cold demeanor on "As the world turns, I spread like germs/Bless the globe with the pestilence, the hard-headed never learn/It's my testament to those burned/Play my position in the game of life, standin' firm" that catches you. Though Cappa and U-God wander a little, they hold it down on lines like "My deadly notes reigns supreme/Your fort is basic compared to mine/Domino effect, arts and crafts, paragraphs contain cyanide" and "A jungle junkie, vigilante tantrum/A death kiss, catwalk, squeeze another anthem/Hold it for ransom, tranquilized with anesthetics/My orchestra, graceful, music ballerinas" respectively.

Then, like an arsenal of martial art weapons, RZA, GZA, Masta Killa, Ghostface and Raekwon slice. The Abbot's enters: My beats travel like a vortex, through your spine/ To the top of your cerebral cortex, Make you feel like you bust a nut from raw sex." The Genius follows suit: "War of the masses, the outcome disastrous/Many of the victim family save they ashes/A million names on walls, engraved in plaques/Those who went back, received penalties for the axe" Masta intrigues: "Givin' sight to the blind/The dumb are mostly intrigued by the drum," Ghost dices: "Sound convincin', thousand dollar court by convention/Hands, like Sonny Liston, get fly permission/Hold the fuck up, I'll unfasten your wig, bad luck/I humiliate, separate the English from the Dutch." And Rae executes: "The swift chancellor, flex, the white-gold tarantula/Track truck diesel, blaze the weed God, substantiala/Max mostly, undivided, then slide in, sickenin'/Guaranteed, made em jump like Rod Strickland" to finish the listener - fatality.

On the often-overlooked Ruff Ryders 2000 compilation Ryde or Die Volume 2, Chicago newcomer Twista and virtual unknown Drag-On went bar-for-bar and wouldn't back down. Twista sets the stage "Thugs with the Chevy's, thugs with the trucks/ The real gun runner never run when he bust/Henny and he mobs in the front, smoke a 'dro blunt/sippin' with a fifty sack under the nuts" and "Cause I be squeezin' ass/ That'll make a full glass disappear like a genie/Move to the LOX and Beanie, while them hoes backin' that thang up on my weenie."Drag-On then steps up properly with "All I rock is E-N-Y-C-E, in the NYC with the white T/All I really do is R-U/Double F, R-Y-D-E, D-R-A-G, to the dash O-N/Catch me, smokin' potent, bet I leave y'all/ Niggaz soakin' with your insides open."Just as the energy subsided, Swizz Beatz drops and turns the already frantic instrumental to warp speed. 8 bar verses from each MC ensue, as Twista opens "Whether murder or bouncy beat, my flow be philosophical/ Smokin' on tropical, achievin' all Missions Impossible" and Drag terminates with "I'm tired of silly clowns/Spittin' out weak shit, sound like me shit/You gon' make me pull a all nighter/Standin' infront of your crib with that gasoline and that lighter/That way we won't miss ya, Drag-On and Twista." The definition of adrenaline.Big L - EbonicsAudio DownloadLyrics

This one gets a nod not just for his lyrics but the concept behind the song - for this late great Harlemite (R.I.P.) to to illustrate the language of slang just as the millenium hit.Schooling the novices, Big L breaks it down with phrases like "A radio is a box, a razor blade is a ox/Fat diamonds is rocks and jakes is cop/And if you got rubbed, you got stuck/You got shot, you got bucked/And if you got double-crossed, you got fucked," "The food you eat is your grub, a victim's a mark/A sweat box is a small club, your tick is your heart/ Your apartment is your pad, your old man is your dad/The studio is the lab and heated is mad."Topping it off with urban education like "The iron horse is the train and champaign is bubbly/A deuce is a honey that's ugly/If your girl is fine, she's a dime/A suit is a fine, jewelry is shine/If you in love, that mean you blind/Genuine is real, a face card is a hundred dollar bill/A very hard, long stare is a grill."

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All material presented on this blog is strictly for promotional use only, the files are not hosted on my site but rather on third party servers. If you enjoy the music you hear, I highly encourage you go out and support the artist by purchasing their work. Any artist or label rep that would like me to take down a link, please contact me at my e-mail address. Have a good one, Grazie.